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A group of search and rescue technicians (SAR) from 424 Transport, Search and Rescue Squadron at 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, ON pose for photographs near an Ad Astra stone commemorating the ultimate sacrifice made by 424's SAR Sgt. Janick Gilbert, 34 — whom died during a rescue mission in Nunavut last October — during the 17th annual Ad Astra ceremony held in the RCAF Memorial Airpark at the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, ON Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012.
JEROME LESSARD/QMI AGENCY

Memories of war and sacrifices made by hundreds of air force veterans and one fallen search and rescue technician are now written in stones.

Saturday, Mélisa Lesquir, widow of Sgt. Janick Gilbert, a search and rescue technician (SAR) with 424, Transport/Search and Rescue Squadron at CFB Trenton, who died in a rescue mission in Nunavut last October, was all tears when she saw the Ad Astra stone dedicated to her fallen husband, during the 17th annual Ad Astra ceremony held in the RCAF Memorial Airpark at the National Air Force Museum of Canada.

“He had a big heart," she said, after attending the ceremony with Gilbert's family members, their children and close friends.

An emotional Lesquir said her late husband — who served 13 years with 424 Tiger Squadron — became a SAR tech because he wanted to help people.

On Oct. 27, Sgt. Gilbert flew with his SAR team out of Trenton to help a pair of hunters from Igloolik, Nunavut whose boat had become stuck in pack-ice while they were out walrus hunting.

Moments after he landed in the icy waters off the coast of Igloolik, Gilbert began a calm radio dispatch to the crew of the C-130 Hercules aircraft he had just jumped from.

He inflated his life preserver, took off his helmet and pulled a neoprene hood over his head to help keep him warm.

He was found unresponsive five hours later.

“He just wanted to save their lives, that was what he had in mind,” said Lesquir of her husband’s decision to parachute into slush-covered waters that night.

The Para Rescue Association of Canada and fellow SAR techs of Gilbert's remembered the 34-year-old as the "consummate pro".

The association dedicated one the 271 Ad Astra stones that have been dedicated from Aug. 15, 2011 and July 15, 2012 to seven members of 6 RCAF Group Bomber Command and other Canadian air force men and women who served during the Second World War, to their fallen SAR tech.

About 20 SAR techs from 424 and former colleagues of Gilbert's took a moment to remember their "brother" as they all gathered around the area where Gilbert's Ad Astra stone lay in the museum's airpark.

"This is a really meaningful moment for the members of 424 Squadron and the Para Rescue Association of Canada as we dedicate this stone to one of ours who lost his life so others could live," said the search and rescue squadron's commanding officer Lt. Col. Jean Bernier, who took command of the Trenton unit last May.

This year's Ad Astra ceremony was also "quite" meaningful to Lorne Spicer, who travelled from Shedden, ON to reunite with his comrades from the WWII Halifax bomber command and former gunners John Neill and Jack Wagar.

"It is quite an honour just to be with Jack and John and our families," said Spicer, who attended his second Ad Astra ceremony Saturday and visited the Halifax Bomber aircraft on display at the museum for a fourth time.

Spicer's children dedicated a stone in his honour last year for his 85th birthday.

"It brings back old memories, I'll tell you that. Some good and some bad," said the former navigator, with tears in his eyes.

"Just getting the crew together is wonderful. After the end of the war, we stayed together as friends. It helps hold you together, knowing these are people who did the same thing as you."

Spicer joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1943. In September, 1944 he “crewed up” with Neill, Wagar, and other members Bill Perry (who was a member of the Royal Air Force), Jim Barratt, Herb Harvie and Frank Paszat.

The crew flew together until the end of the war – performing seven bombing missions and taking part in one diversion raid.

The 426 Bomber Squadron was part of the RCAF 6 Group, created in October, 1942. Until then, all bomber squadrons were part of the Royal Air Force.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of 6 Group – which gave Canada independent control of the squadrons that were part of the group.

During the war, members of 426 Bomber Squadron performed a total of 261 operational missions – 242 of them were bombing missions.

Last year, 21 of his family members attended the ceremony. This year, the veteran was accompanied by his two sons Bob and Tom.

“It allows them to have a vague idea of what we did, especially to see the Halifax and where I sat,” said Spicer. “It tells them a bit about our story.”